Manchester United v Real Madrid: will the world really stop? – in pictures

Real Madrid's manager José Mourinho has boasted that
the 'world will stop' to witness Real Madrid's Champions League last-16 fixture with Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Portuguese is no stranger to hyperbole, but just how engrossed is the world by the fixture? We take a look at newspaper front pages from around the globe to gauge the level of interest

Marca
‘To Devils!’ screams the headline from what is undoubtedly the most eye-catching and dramatic front page of the lot. The Madrid-based daily spares no hyperbole in its coverage of the game, with the vast bulk of the front page taken up by a stunning image of Cristiano Ronaldo running through a inflamed tunnel en route to the Old Trafford pitch. 'The devil is white and is called Cristiano,' declares Marca.
Wow, bloody wow

AS
No surprise as the Madrid-based daily sports newspaper goes big on Real’s visit to Old Trafford. 'The match of dreams,' trumpets the front-page headline alongside a giant picture of Cristiano Ronaldo wearing that long blue hat. Dotted around the Portuguese star are other reminders of Tuesday’s contest, such as the predicted line-ups in graphic form and small pictures of other key protoganists

New York Times
Confirmation, if confirmation were needed, that not everyone in the world gives two hoots about the result of the match. The NYT skips right past the tantiaising prospect of Man U v Real, preferring instead to wax column inches on US drone strikes, the Kenyan election and other such events which sit lower in Mourinho's estimation

O Jogo
You would think a large Portuguese newspaper would make a fuss of a match in which José Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo are involved to a significant degree, but alas no. Instead O Jogo’s front page is dominated by a picture of João Moutinho as part of a preview of Porto’s Champions League visit to Málaga next Wednesday. Yes, that’s right, next Wedneday. There is a small mention on the front of the paper to Tuesday evening’s match but, quite frankly, it’s tiny

Mundo Deportivo
Given that it is published in Barcelona, it is perhaps not a surprise that this Spanish daily sports paper is not making a song and dance of Tuesday’s match. Its front page is dominated by a picture of Sandro Rosell, the Barcelona president, alongside a smaller, soft-focused image of the club’s manager Tito Vilanova. Above that is a story about Andrés Iniesta claiming he has 'blind faith' in his team’s ability to
overcome their 2-0 deficit against Milan in the Champions League, and above that, way in the corner, is a reference to United v Real, with
Cristiano Ronaldo described as ‘the white hope’

El Pais
Mourinho's mug appears on the top right-hand side of El Pais with the words 'Greatest Day'. He's sharing the masthead with news of the discovery of a cure for HIV and a piece on the Holocaust. Evidently the Spanish think the tie is as weighty an affair as Mourinho claimed

La Gazzetta dello Sport
Only the smallest of mentions on the front of Italy’s best known sports paper, and an odd one too, as it contains images of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo above the headline ‘Sir Alex against Mou’. The paper is otherwise dominated with domestic stories, with the lead focusing on an apology from Antonio Cassano to his club Internazionale

Ole
No mention whatsoever on the front of this Buenos Aires-based daily. The main story focuses on Vélez Sarsfield’s most recent victory and
dotted around that are teasers for other Argentinian football stories

Beeld
The South African daily is another paper which seems unaffected by United v Real. Two stories, three teasers, an advert for ‘Dis-Chem
Pharmacies’ and a picture of two smiling young girls, but no mention whatsoever of football’s biggest match since the last one

The Times of India
India’s largest newspaper – with a daily circulation of more than 3.1 million – has more than a dozen stories on its front page, as well as three top-of-the-page teasers, but not a single mention of the match in Manchester. For those more concerned by their tough oily skin than by football, there is at least a gigantic advert to aid them